


fill the void with definition

by crookedspoon



Series: Fluff Bingo 2019 [2]
Category: Aquaman (2018), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Walks On The Beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21598225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/crookedspoon
Summary: With her days spent as Orm's queen, Mera allows herself these pockets of happiness with Diana.
Relationships: Diana (Wonder Woman)/Mera (DCU)
Series: Fluff Bingo 2019 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1367494
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35
Collections: Fluff Bingo, femslashficlets: janelle monae lyric prompt challenge





	fill the void with definition

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LullabyDance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LullabyDance/gifts).



> Written for "Sunset" on my fluffbingo card and #4 "Crown on my head but the world on my shoulder" at femslashficlet's Janelle Monae lyrics challenge.
> 
> Initially, I started this way early in the year, after LullabyDance had given me the prompt in Feb. But back then I'd been striving to push this work to an even 1k. The last time I touched it was in July. I'm not going to make the femslash ficlets challenge this year anymore, but I wanted to finish this one at least.

Sunlight glints golden off the ocean on the horizon, a wedding of sky and sea.

Wedding—a word that is discouraged between them, but thoughts are free and indeed treacherous at times. Diana no longer talks of Helios returning his steeds to the stables, for it reminds Mera of the bed she will return to once the last light is failing. Until then, she wants to spare no thought of thrones or bloodlines or producing heirs. All that can wait, and will, as long as she is here, beneath a flame-colored sky, with the rocks digging into her skin and the waves lapping at her feet. Diana is warm and solid against her back, heartbeat strong and soothing.

However, she can't always keep her own promises.

"The only good thing about this arrangement is that I can get away with punching him in the face and call it being rough," Mera complains as they make their way over the rocks to the beach, fingers interlaced. "It's quite satisfying."

Diana throws back her head and laughs. "You are a fierce one, my queen."

"Oh no, not you, too. If one more person grovels before me, I swear I'm going to lose it."

"It is not groveling, but deference. I will stand up to you when I must, yet so far, you have given me no reason, my queen."

Mera stops, feet digging into the sand, and tugs Diana back toward her. " _Please_ stand up to me, princess. I'm begging you."

Diana's eyes crinkle in amusement as she sinks into Mera's embrace, fingers skidding over sun-warmed skin. "Command me. You are no beggar queen."

"Well, that's a start," Mera laughs, throwing her arms around Diana's neck. "You should be a queen, not me. You certainly have the strength and aura of one."

"I have no more need of titles than you do, as you well know," Diana replies and for the first time that evening, their gentle touches turn to gentle kisses that are soon infused with a desire too burning to be called gentle any longer.

In the dying light, their desire is like a beacon that could guide ships safely to port. Diana is her port and safe haven, the only destination worth swimming toward when the sea is rough. Even when it is calm, there is no place Mera would rather be on the same shores as Diana.

Yet her duty lies elsewhere.

Born to royal families, they both know the honor that is bestowed upon them, as part of a rich history, of tradition, of something grander than their own selves, and they know the duty that this grandness demands. They know of submitting to a will greater than their own, and the consequences of choice, of placing their own wants and needs before those of their people.

What they are doing – seeking comfort in each other's company – is not only selfish but treacherous. Mera has sworn an oath before the old gods of Xebel and the citizens of Atlantis to honor her station as wife to King Orm. By meeting Diana in secret like this, she is not only endangering both of them, but their people as well. If Mera's feelings for Diana were known, it might well mean war between their nations, for Orm is not a forgiving man. He would not take her slight lightly.

Yet before he could march on Themiscyra and engage the Amazons in battle just to show his might, Mera would stand before him herself. Even if it meant feeling his trident pierce her chest. For her people, she would gladly lay down her life; it has been forfeit the moment she had given it over to Orm and Atlantis anyway, so he can do with it as he likes.

Mera's heart is still her own, and she has chosen to share it with Diana. That's what matters.

These trysts may be selfish and doomed to be discovered some day, yet they are a source of strength for Mera. Without Diana, it would be that much harder for her to remain firm in spirit. She is a true warrior princess, whose strength and conviction are a guiding light to Mera. When she is with Diana, a feeling of rightness abounds within her that lets her take heart. 

As long as she's wearing the shackles of matrimony, her people are safe from Atlantis. And as long as she can find such profound joy at Diana's side, she can live with the weight of these shackles and ignore for a while how they chafe.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from " I Grant You Ample Leave" by George Eliot.
> 
> Prompt me more pairings for [my fluffbingo card](https://crookedspoon.dreamwidth.org/212282.html) or [the Janelle Monae lyrics table](https://crookedspoon.dreamwidth.org/212776.html) on dreamwidth.


End file.
